Non-destructive imagine of manufacturing flaws in industrial automotive powder metallurgy green and sintered parts using a novel IR thermal-wave technology

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This project will create new and robust non-destructive imaging (NDI) technology to assess the integrity of automotive parts manufactured by an Ontario company (Stackpole International), involving machine-pressed powder metallic compacts in the pre-sintered ("green") and sintered form. Defects associated with manufactured automotive parts (cracks, flaws) are common, hard to identify, and lead to compromised quality and road safety operating under high loads. They are also the source of significant manufacturing waste-related expenses. Conventional quality control non-destructive methods (ultrasound, eddy currents, x-rays) are not capable of identifying common flaws in green parts. Infrared detection is the only known method capable of testing green state compacts under realistic industrial conditions. Therefore, the overall objective of this research is the development of a mid-infrared thermal-wave radar imaging (TWRI) technique recently pioneered in the PI's laboratory into a fast NDI technology of green and sintered powder metallic automotive components. The proposed technology will have significantly higher contrast and subsurface flaw detectivity (image contrast dynamic range) than today's infrared thermographic imaging systems. The reliability of the TWRI technology will be tested with flaws typical of Stackpole's manufacturing products and will be optimized with respect to minimum detectable crack size, depth and width (axial and lateral spatial resolution, respectively). The speed of data acquisition vs. image quality will be investigated under simulated production conditions. The proposed NDI technology can potentially lead to a breakthrough in on-line quality control for automotive and other manufacturing environments. The Project represents a true University-Industry team effort offering a unique research-to-application experience for trainees at all levels as well as participating members of the University and Manufacturing Industry sectors who already recognize the commercialization potential of the IP to be generated.